England's national parks and mobile operators have agreed to work together in a deal that aims to provide improved mobile coverage in the country's national parks.
The agreement involves England's four main carriers, Vodafone, Three, O2 and EE, represented by the Mobile Operators Association and National Parks England, who both aim to improve the lives of the people living in communities within the national parks by providing better connectivity while reducing adverse environmental impact.
Through the deal, which was launched jointly by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Department for Culture, Media & Sport and Department for Communities and Local Government, operators will be asked to create environment-friendly designs and come up with innovative practices, such as sharing base stations when possible, to preserve the integrity of the wildlife and cultural heritage in the national parks.
The agreement explains that the success of mobile networks depends on the construction of base stations, also called masts, to provide radio coverage to handle SMS, calls and data. It also cites issues that mobile operators will have to work around, such as the alteration or obstruction of radio signals, which travel in a straight line, by tall trees, cliffs and other natural objects found in the national parks.
The mobile operators and park authorities have also agreed to name key individuals who will represent both parties in "constructive early dialogue over operators' plans for new site rollout."
"Our National Parks are areas of incredible beauty but they are also places where people live and work," says Communications Minister Ed Vaizey. "They need access to modern communications that many of us have taken granted for years. The new agreement could make a real difference to those who live, work or visit our glorious National Parks."
Lord de Mauley, Environment Minister, adds that the national parks, which comprise around 10 percent of England's land area, are places where people live and conduct business. In fact, national park communities contribute £4 billion to the nation's economy every year, making it important to provide better communications in these areas. De Mauley also says that the government is setting aside £150 million for the project to "deal with mobile hotspots across the UK."
National Parks England chair and North York Moors National Park Authority Jim Bailey says national parks have "always been about finding pragmatic long-term solutions to the competing demands on land." Building communication infrastructure in the area, he says, is "no different."
Better signal is expected to arise in England's 10 national parks, including Broad Authority, Dartmoor, Exmoor, Lake District, New Forest, North York Moors, Northumberland, Peak District, South Downs and Yorkshire Dales National Parks.
